Kit Symons believes Manuel Pellegrini's decision to rest some of his key players for last weekend's FA Cup meeting with Chelsea has already paid dividends.

City put out a fairly inexperienced side for there fifth round meeting with the Blues which ended in a 5-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Nevertheless, Pellegrini's team came out on Wednesday night and looked fresh as they defeated Dynamo Kiev 3-1 in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg which suggests to former City defender Symons that the Chilean made the right choice.

"He (Pellegrini) will say this is part of the masterplan and it paid off," he said on Sky Sports.

"Not only with the team selection but the way he played with (David) Silva as a 10 and Fernandinho doing a fantastic job on the right both defensively and going forward.

"They got it spot on and played very well, the best I have seen them play this season. Some of the attacking play was sensational, but the most impressive thing was the work-rate collectively.

"In the first half they were brilliant, Dynamo Kiev were slightly disappointing but City did not let them play, they pressed them really high, scored two very good goals and could have had more.

"The second half was more of a competition, Kiev posed more of a threat, but City looked such a threat on the break and got a well-deserved third."